


You Don’t Know What You’ve Got ‘Til It’s Gone

by LazyGeisha



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Angst, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-11-03 23:10:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17886878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazyGeisha/pseuds/LazyGeisha
Summary: Choices are made.(I HATE summaries)





	You Don’t Know What You’ve Got ‘Til It’s Gone

**Author's Note:**

> I have... no excuse for this fic. It was inspired by shirtless Jake Borelli and Alex Landi photos, thus is both ridiculous and self indulgent and probably makes no sense. Throw in angst and it's exactly my style. 
> 
> I'll catch my mistakes later, I promise.

“I need a Spa Day.” Taryn stretched her neck, rolled her head around a couple of times as if trying to work out kinks. “Hey Schmitt, let’s do a Spa Day together this week, it’ll be fun. We get massages and maybe some waxing.” Without turning her head from the computer screen, she gestured up and down his small frame. “I’m due and you’re like a freaking Sasquatch with all the body hair.”

Levi pulled his scrub top slightly to view the hair gracing his perfectly serviceable chest. “What’s wrong with my hair? Don’t most men have body hair?” It had never occurred to him that of all the things he could think of that were problematic about himself, body hair was one of them.

Pushing away from the terminal, she turned chair to face him and snorted derisively. “He-lo, Schmitt, are you serious?” Taryn splayed her fingers, pulling them down as she counted off. “Your boyfriend is hairless.” Levi flushed, knowing full well that Nico wasn’t _exactly_ bare, there was that ‘treasure trail’ strip that led from his navel, down to his-

“Levi! You’re blushing, stop thinking about Dr. Kim and licking your lips, it’s… weird.” She raised her hand again, one finger down for Nico. “Link has no chest hair.” Another finger down. “Deluca, believe it or not, no chest hair.” Another finger. “Avery, Hunt, and I suspect Webber.” She’d moved to the other hand. “Even Karev seems to have no chest hair and I find that strange. He’s like ‘The Beast’ to Dr. Jo’s ‘Beauty’.”

“Taryn, do we need to have a conversation about boundaries with our overlords?” He wasn’t sure he liked where this was going.

Turning back to the screen, she ended the conversation with, “Just because he likes you with chest hair doesn’t mean he wouldn’t like you _more_ without it. Just sayin’.”

~~~

Levi never thought he’d obsess about body hair, only now it was all he could think about or notice. Other than Nico. Nico... They’d had conflicting shifts for two weeks, managing nothing more than heavy innuendos when working together or fumbling around in on call rooms during short breaks. At first that had been exciting, but now he just wanted Nico in his very large bed and a few hours to take their time. Screw short and sweet, he wanted long and spicy. Friday was the first day they’d have time together; Levi had the day off and started early Saturday, his boyfriend came home Friday night with all the next day free. Twelve hours was their overlap and he planned to make the most of it. He wondered about Nico’s view on chests, but recently when they did get together, talking was confined to a very brisk “Hi” before other things took priority.

Passing Taryn in the hall on Tuesday, she’d greeted him with “Friday, eleven a.m. Spa Day. I know you have off so no backing out!” Great. He knew there was no way he’d be able to get out of it short of another natural disaster calling all hands on deck.

~~~

The massage was... nice. His boyfriend’s were better, but _those_ usually ended with Levi moaning, Nico biting and arguments about who got the wet spot. This was, _nice_ though, his masseuse’s fingers were strong despite looking like a nineteen year old gymnast.

“Ready for the waxing?” Taryn sounded groggy, obviously napping during her massage. “I promise you, nothing below the waist.” She blinked at him, looking coy. “Unless…”

“No!” He was not ready for anything hot near his groin except Nico. “Chest only, no arguments.”

Holding up her hand for a high five, she declared, “You’ll love it, I swear! Nico’ll love it!”

~~~

He unlocked the apartment door with the spare key he been given, hoisting bags with the ingredients for dinner onto the counter. His chest was stinging like he’d rubbed sandpaper all over it, hadn’t realised it hurt so damn much to have the hair stripped off your body with hot wax strips - as he thought of it in those terms _right now_ he was damn sure he was an idiot for NOT thinking it was gonna hurt. How did people DO this?!?!

Glancing at the clock, noting his boyfriend would be home in a couple of hours he got to work on the eggplant parmesan, something that could be reheated if they decided to have ‘dessert’ first and eat later. Whether they were hungry for food or for each other, he was covered.

~~~

The door opened just as he’d pulled the casserole dish out of the oven. “Eggplant?” Nico’d toed off his shoes, followed his nose into the kitchen. Wrapping his arms around his boyfriend and pulling him into a backhug, he nuzzled his nose against Levi’s ear. “Mmmmmm, smart man, something that’ll keep for later.” He walked them backward, towards the large bed that dominated the studio apartment - between the small salary fellows make and the crushing med school debt, a studio was the best that could be expected. Not that Levi could complain, his current living space in his mother’s basement was not a penthouse suite by any stretch of the imagination, plus this was private with no concerns over when she’d get home from her ‘girls’ nights’.

“You don’t want my eggplant?” The teasing note in his voice drew a seductive purr from the depths of Nico, tinged with the gravelly note reserved only for Levi. “Oh, I want your eggplant all right,” He slid warm hands down the front of his boyfriend’s pants. “And _then_ dinner.” He deposited damp kisses down a flushed neck. “I _definitely_ want your eggplant, Levi.” He pulled at the shirt obstructing his mouth. “Off. This comes off!” pausing only long enough to yank the sweatshirt over the other man’s head. “Mmmm, much better.” Continuing his path of kisses, he turned his boyfriend around and… stopped. Stopped dead.

“Um…” Biting his lower lip, he half-heartedly exclaimed, “Surprise?” Judging by the reaction, not a good one.

Dropping the sweatshirt, Nico buried his face in trembling hands, Levi’s name moaned in a voice somewhere between laughter and crying. He moved to reveal slightly teary eyes, either from suppressed laughter or genuine unhappiness. “Okay,” his voice was muffled behind those now white knuckles. “First, you are your own person and don’t belong to me. I don’t own you and you can do what you want with yourself.” He dropped his arms to dangle at his sides. “Second, I love you no matter what…”

Feeling uncomfortably exposed for the first time in their relationship since the elevator where he’d been shot down for not being something someone else thought he was, Levi picked up his shirt and clutched it to his chest like a shield.

“… but why, Levi?” He flung his hand toward the hairless chest now partially hidden. Opening his mouth to speak, Nico interrupted. “Did I ever make you think I wasn’t happy with the way you were?” His voice was rising in a way that seemed unreasonable to Levi. “I loved you the way it was, didn’t you know that?” Visibly trying to calm himself down, he almost wailed “I know I sound like a crazy person, but when I’m deep inside you, you on top of me, I love running my fingers through it.” He looked like he might actually cry.

At this point, Levi was over it all. He just wanted to leave; now that he knew he was no more than chest hair to his boyfriend he wanted to go back to his mom’s basement and crawl into bed for the rest of the night and possibly die. His voice was weak, despite the hurt fueling his response. “Taryn suggested that you may prefer me this way as most of the doctors at the hospital are hairless, including you.”

Nico’s derisive snort made him flinch. “I don’t wanna sleep with any of the other doctors, Helm doesn’t know shit and in this case my Korean genes won out over the Italian ones. It’s not my fault!”

And with that, Levi broke. Pulling the shirt back on, his sarcastic “Yeah, you really lost in the gene wars, poor you” muffled by the material. He thrust his feet into his sneakers, grabbed his keys and flung the door open only stopping when he heard his name. “Where’re you going?!?!”

Barely turning around, he snapped with the full force of his anger. “Home, Nico. I’m going back to my mom’s house where I live in the basement with all my action figures and nerdy posters because THAT’S WHO I AM. Enjoy your eggplant.” He heard something hit the door a few seconds after he slammed it behind him.

~~~

It was a week later and they still hadn’t spoken. Correction, Nico _tried_ to talk to Levi, but he blew him off, not ready to verbalize the hurt he’d felt when he’d been reduced to a lump of chest hair – non-existent chest hair, to be accurate. That wasn’t even the hardest part, if he were being honest with himself. The hardest part was admitting that he’d overreacted and now felt stupid. He knew Nico loved him, but that constant underlying insecurity occasionally came out and messed with his head. He couldn’t figure out a way to say _any_ of it so he just avoided it and his boyfriend – were they still boyfriends?

Taryn had apologised to him almost non-stop since her Saturday on ortho service. Nico it seems had not been happy with her, and while he wasn’t outright hostile he made it clear that if she stuck her nose in their business or assumed things about him again there’d be problems. Oh, and until Levi’s chest hair grew back, she could kiss ortho service goodbye, so to speak. “Petty…” she’d said when they’d shared lunch Sunday. “But I can see how I sorta deserve it. I’m so sorry, Schmitt.”

~~~

Standing by the window with the view to the park across the street, he stared at Nico currently involved in what seemed like an intense conversation with Link. They were going back and forth in what may have been an argument, he couldn’t tell from where he stood. He felt Taryn join him. “Still haven’t worked up the courage to talk to him?” They watched Link pause, put a hand on Nico’s shoulder and walk back towards the hospital leaving his fellow behind. “No. I don’t know what to do, it seems too late.” He turned his face towards her. “What’d you want to meet me here for?”

She shrugged, “It resolved itself, nevermind. But, I think you should know that talking or not talking to Dr. Kim might not be a problem much longer. Monday Link got a job offer from a hospital in San Diego, and with the situation with Dr. Grey and Deluca I heard he’s probably going to take it. And bring Nico with-” Levi was halfway down the hallway towards the stairs before she could finish.

~~~

He found his boyfriend – the hell with it, he was still going to think of him that way – exactly where he’d seen him from the window, his back to him watching the kids play on the swings. Stopping behind him, Levi tapped him on the shoulder and yelled “Hey Dr. Kim!” As Nico turned around, his boyfriend shoved him, hard. “So, what’s the deal!? You were just going to leave?” He felt wetness fill his eyes. “Were you going to say goodbye?” Swallowing was difficult over the lump that’d formed. “Did I mean that little to you?” He gave up fighting and let the tears fall. He sensed rather than saw Nico start toward him then check himself, the hand run through his hair, heard the mumbled “Fuck it!” and felt those strong familiar arms wrap around him. _Home._ For the first time in a week he felt like _home_. Secure. Loved.

“Oh honey, I’m not going anywhere, I promise.” A soft kiss on his curls, warm hands brushed his back. “I’m not sure what you mean about saying goodbye, but I’m definitely not going anywhere. Link just signed a three year contract and is keeping me with him.”

Levi brushed the tears off his face, pulling back a bit to gaze up at his boyfriend. “Taryn told me that Link got a job offer in San Diego and was taking you with him.” He shook his head. “I saw Link put his hand on you like he was comforting you?”

He felt the rumble of laughter more than heard it. “Ah, no. That was because he wanted to know if I was okay staying if we’d broken up.” This time those warm lips grazed his forehead. “We didn’t break up, though, right? Please tell me we’re still together. Please.” Their noses touched in the lightest of caresses. “ _Please_.”

“I love you, I don’t wanna break up with you.” Levi buried his face in the firm chest right in front of him. “I am so sorry, I’m an idiot. I couldn’t find the words...” He was babbling and he knew it, he just couldn’t stop.

“Shhh, it’s alright.” Arms tightened around him, the feeling of security soothed his soul. Nico’s voice revealed barely suppressed tears of his own. “I’m the one who needs to apologise. It was my fault and I’m so sorry I said what I did. It’s all true, but I shouldn't've behaved like that. I love your furry chest pelt-” Levi may have choked a little when he heard that. “-but it’s not what makes me love you and I’m so sorry that I hurt you and had you thinking it was important.”

Nico moved to put a finger under Levi’s chin, drawing his caramel coloured eyes to Nico’s chocolate toned ones. “Looking back I think I freaked out because that night had become such an ‘event’, like it was _the night_ and I was so focused on it being perfect that the change rattled me. It sounds ridiculous, but that’s what happened. What I want…” He stopped to plant a lingering kiss on soft, pliant lips. “What I want is to come home to you every night, to make _every_ night _the night_.” When he fell on one knee, Levi did the fish mouth thing he does when he’s lost for words. “Levi Schmitt, will you do me the honor of moving in with me?”

“Ass!” He grabbed the other man, pulled him up, kissed him hard. “Of course I’ll move in with you, but...” Nico quirked a brow at his ‘but’. “Isn’t it kinda small?”

Nico pulled out his phone, showing him an apartment listing. “Both our salaries should cover it comfortably, the owner said he’d give a discount since we’re doctors. It seems that makes him feel safer.” He put his phone back. “So that’s definitely a yes?”

“YES!” He practically hurled himself at Nico, grabbing the back of his neck and wrapped his legs around his waist like a baby chimp. In the middle of kisses which were probably not meant for general viewing, Levi's phone pinged. This time, he definitely choked. "It's from Taryn. She lied about the job offer, Dr Link is happy we're not fighting and Dr Karev says I, to directly quote, should stop climbing you like a tree and either get back to work or find an on call room, unquote" They whirled their faces towards the hospital, both turning pink when they found Tayrn, Link and Dr. Karev waving at them from the same window Levi'd been using to spy on Nico.

"Why does he always catch us?" Levi banged his head against his boyfriend's chest. "Why?"

Grabbing his hand, Nico pulled Levi across the street to the hospital. "Don't really care, let's go find that oncall room, 'kay?"

 


End file.
